Cathedral Basilica — Mass of the Holy Chrism, 10 a.m., to be celebrated by Archbishop Burke; Mass of the Lord’s Supper, 7:30 p.m., also to be celebrated by the archbishop; Tenebrae at 9 p.m.; cathedral basilica remains open until midnight for quiet prayer.

Tenebrae is an ancient service of sung psalms and scriptural readings during Holy Week that dates from medieval times. It focuses on Christ’s passion and death, ending with the hope for his resurrection that will be celebrated on Easter. In a darkened church candles are extinguished one by one until only a single candle remains lit.

Old Cathedral — Mass of the Lord’s Supper, 5:30 p.m.; basilica remains open until 10 p.m. for quiet prayer.

Thursday, April 5, Holy Thursday: 6:00 p.m. confession; 7:00 p.m. Solemn High Mass, Procession to the Repository, followed by Adoration at the Repository until Midnight

Friday, April 6, Good Friday: 8:00 a.m. Stations of the Cross and Confessions; 2 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Confessions; 3:00 p.m. Liturgy of the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ, followed by Adoration at the Holy Sepulcher until 8 p.m.

Saturday, April 7, Easter Vigil: 8:00 p.m. confession; 9:00 p.m. Solemn High Mass; At the End of the Vigil, Blessing of Easter Food: Bread, Eggs...

"Finally, when the conference had lasted four or five hours, Lyon closed it, as he had opened it, Rather,' said he (he was still seated, and spoke deliberately, slowly, and with a peculiar emphasis), 'rather than concede to the State of Missouri the right to demand that my Government shall not enlist troops within her limits, or bring troops into the State whenever it pleases, or move its troops at its own will into, out of, or through the State; rather than concede to the State of Missouri for one single instant the right to dictate to my Government in any matter however unimportant, I would (rising as he said this and pointing in turn to every one in the room) see you, and you, and you, and you, and every man, woman, and child in the State, dead and buried.'

"Then turning to the Governor, he said: 'This means war. In an hour one of my officers will call for you and conduct you out of my lines.'

Yesterday was the annual competition of the Missouri Winemaking Society, held at De Smet Jesuit High School. I've been a judge for the society for many years, and the average quality of submitted wines has been getting much better over time. Some local wines are superb, and Missouri is an excellent grape growing and winemaking region.

For both sexes, gender equality in managerial positions was associated with lower life expectancy.

The scientists said possible explanations for the correlation is that men's health may be adversely affected by a loss of what had been seen as traditional male privileges. Women's health, meanwhile, could be being damaged by greater opportunities for risky behaviour as a result of increased income, along with stress from longer working hours.

We live in a disordered society, so it is not surprising that sickness, the disorder of the body, should increase.

It is claimed by feminists that the traditional division of labor between men and women is due to male domination keeping women down in a Marxist class struggle. We should note that the Church does recognize a power imbalance, as we read in Genesis about Eve's punishment:

To the woman also he said: I will multiply thy sorrows, and thy conceptions: in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children, and thou shalt be under thy husband’s power, and he shall have dominion over thee. (Genesis 3:16)

But equality between men and women has always been a Christian doctrine, and therefore to correct some of the consequences of the Fall of Man in Genesis, the Church has encouraged men to defer to women and not to use force on them.

Feminists claim that men and women are equal and that therefore there is no difference between them. Male chauvinists claim that men and women are different and so men are better than women. Both the feminists and chauvinists make the same error in believing that differences in kind mean differences in value. The Christian understanding is that men and women are different, but have the same value. This is common sense to everyone but university professors!

The traditional division of work reflects the sexual differences between men and women, including both material and spiritual differences. Male workplaces strongly differ in organization, environment, compensation, and requirements from female workplaces, and these differences flow quite naturally from sexual differences. This system works quite well for most men and for most women, but not for all, which is why we have so many problems today.

The feminist revolution in the 1970s attempted to destroy the distinctiveness of male workplaces for the sake of egalitarianism. The first change was overturning laws and customs that restricted certain jobs to men only; since this led to workplaces with very many men and often few women, this had to be backed up with draconian laws punishing sexual harassment. The second change was economic: the policy of equal pay for equal work.

"Equal pay for equal work", although egalitarian and popular, has enormous social justice implications. The encyclical of Pope Pius XI, Quadragesimo Anno, which encourages a living wage, is defeated by this kind of equality. The concept of a living wage states that one worker ought to be able to completely provide for a large family, have security in retirement and against disability, and that it is the duty of the employer to pay accordingly. Therefore, a middle-aged man with wife and children ought to be paid more than a young single woman without dependents, as a matter of social justice. A woman with children and no husband ought to be paid more also. Likewise, a man near retirement ought to be paid far more due to his long loyalty to the employer and his need to support himself in his old age. This apparent unfairness in wages was summed up in the phrase "You gotta pay your dues". The ability of an employer to give more compensation to someone based on their need as the head of a family, or as a reward for long-term loyalty is completely gutted by the new system. This in turn leads to calls for greater government involvement in the economy, by providing welfare to families and by old-age pensions. The current conception of a "living wage" is met merely by manipulation of the minimum-wage law, which is completely unsuitable to the needs of families and is unfair to employers.

The new system tends to reward a few elite women with high-paying jobs, while depressing the take-home wages of the bulk of workers. It also forces a larger percentage of the population into the workforce, which is disastrous to family life. But this system is good for both big business and big government, for revenues increase dramatically. The new system also tends to throw out older workers who may not be as productive or as up-to-date as their younger competitors.

The old system, which relied on marriage for the support of women, did not work for the feminists, who tend not to be suited for marriage. Likewise, boredom among ordinary women, due to small family size, makes working outside of the home also popular.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Ah, the glories and wonders of the modern medical establishment. We need to carry cards around that say, "Being killed by hospital staff is against my religious belief and I ask that I not be murdered by deliberate dehydration as part of my freedom of religious expression."

The number of kidneys, livers and other body parts surgeons are harvesting through a controversial approach to organ donation has started to rise rapidly, a trend that is saving the lives of more waiting patients but, some say, risks sacrificing the interests of the donors.

By "sacrificing the interests of the donors", the writer actually means "killing the donors", for organ donors really aren't dead, and under the new system, could oftentimes otherwise be easily resuscitated.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

GRIFFIN STATUE GUARDS the entrance to Saint John Vianney High School, in Kirkwood, Missouri. This mythical beast, half eagle and half lion, symbolizes strength and courage; the griffin is also a Christological symbol.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

HERE ARE PHOTOS of Saint Wenceslaus Church, in Saint Louis, Missouri, located less than four road miles southwest of the Old Cathedral downtown.

In the late 19th century, the Bohemian immigrant community outgrew the nearby Saint John Nepomuk Church, and so Saint Wenceslaus parish was formed in 1895. This church was dedicated in 1926.

The church was designed by the architectural firm of O'Meara & Hills, who did many other churches and ecclesiastically-related structures both locally and nationally.

In the background is Saint Francis de Sales Oratory.

Many thanks to the Pastor and parish administrator for unlocking the church for me. Unfortunately, the neighborhood has a lot of crime, and so is not kept open.

This church has been undergoing a series of restorations lately. Note the painter in the photo! I am told that the angel statues are new, and the tabernacle has been recently relocated to the center of the sanctuary; for a while, it was in a side-chapel. I believe the tabernacle is empty in this photo.

Crucifixion painting above tabernacle.

The tabernacle.

IHS on the altar.

One of the new angel statues that flank the crucifixion painting.

The walls of the sanctuary are nicely painted, with numerous fleur-de-lis, and symbols of divinity.

A view to the side of the sanctuary, showing the communion rail, and doors into Mary's chapel

Altar of Mary.

Tabernacle in Mary's altar.

Chapel of Saint Joesph contains numerous items.

The baptismal font.

Our Lady of Charity. This shows a scene where three Cubans discover a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and infant Jesus floating at sea. St. Mary, under her title of Our Lady of Charity is patroness of Cuba and the Archdiocese of Miami, Florida. This statue was donated by Saint Louisians of Cuban descent in 1967.

Altar of Saint Joseph has the holy oils.

Decorated ceiling of the chapel.

View back to the choir loft.

Stained glass window showing Saint Wenceslaus (ca. 907 - 929), in armor, receiving communion. He was a duke, martyr, and patron of Bohemia. The Czech spelling of Wenceslaus is Václav.

Notes

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